Monday, April 30, 2012

Severe Thunderstorms Likely Southern Plains, Midwest and the Ohio Valley Today...


Two pockets of severe weather are forecast across the lower 48 United States today, as indicated by the yellow shaded areas on the above image.

The first region to watch will be over the central and southern Plains once again.  Thunderstorms are forecast to develop along a dryline from southwest Kansas into the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles by mid to late afternoon.  Thunderstorm activity from last night also left behind a boundary extending from near Amarillo, East/Southeastward along the Red River.  Thunderstorms may also redevelop along this boundary later today as well.

Very large hail, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes are possible with severe storms in this region.  Hail may exceed 2 inches in diameter within the red shaded and black hatched area on the image below:


Some of this activity is likely to congeal into a larger complex of storms and move Eastward into the adjacent Plains of southern Kansas and much of Oklahoma later this evening and/or tonight.  This could bring additional very heavy rainfall to areas that are already at or near flood.

Further East, a stationary frontal boundary stretches from southeast Missouri across the Ohio Valley region this morning.  This boundary will focus widespread thunderstorm development during the afternoon and evening hours.  Some of the storms are likely to become severe, with large hail and damaging winds the primary threats.

Folks living across both of these regions should remain alert, particularly this afternoon and evening.  Listen to NOAA Weather Radio, local media or another trusted source for later information and possible warnings.  Take a few minutes early in the day to review severe weather safety tips, identify your best sheltering option, and be prepared to move there quickly if needed.

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